Harvard Dems, Republicans Canvass in N.H.

The Harvard College Democrats and the Harvard Republican Club strove to make history in New Hampshire this weekend as they canvassed the state to persuade voters in this key swing state to vote on Tuesday.

The HRC teamed up with the Wellesley College Republicans on Saturday to bus about 20 students to New Hampshire, where they went door-to-door speaking to voters.

The Harvard College Democrats organized a four-day canvassing excursion in which .students had the option of remaining in New Hampshire for as little as a few hours or as many as three nights from Saturday to Tuesday.

Yesterday, the Dems bused about 70 people to New Hampshire, according to Jarret A. Zafran ’09, the club’s president.

He said that after going door-to-door in Nashua, the students had the chance to attend an Obama rally at which Bill Clinton spoke.

Both groups have been sending students to New Hampshire for several weekends since the school year began.

“We’ve personally contacted upwards of 15,000 New Hampshire voters through phone calls and door-to-door efforts,” said Colin J. Motley ’10, the president of the HRC.

The Dems boast similar numbers, having knocked on almost 15,000 doors in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania as of yesterday, according to their Web site.

New Hampshire voted for Repulibcan George W. Bush in 2000 before flipping to Democrat John F. Kerry in 2004. Both races were decided by a margin of less than 10,000 votes.

Members of both clubs said they have been generally well received in New Hampshire and spoke positively about their expectations for tomorrow.

“Weeks ago I was canvassing and I felt a little discouraged,” Zafran said. “This is now our seventh weekend to canvass in New Hampshire...I’m cautiously optimistic.”

Jonathan S. Gould ’10, another member of the Dems, added, “We’ve been getting a good reaction. People are ready to embrace change.”

Members of HRC also seemed optimistic about their efforts paying off.

“Definitely there is election fatigue. [But] a lot of independents in New Hampshire are really fans of McCain,” Motley said.

The most recent poll by the University of New Hampshire put McCain at 41 percent and Obama at 52 percent of the popular vote in the state.

But Zafran said, “The only poll that really matters is the poll on Election Day.”